From life felony to dropped charge

Friday

Oct 2, 2009 at 4:59 PMOct 2, 2009 at 5:05 PM

By Suevon Lee Staff writer

Minutes before trial was set to begin Friday afternoon, the State Attorney’s Office announced it was dropping charges against Justin Botelho, the 21-year-old facing up to life in prison for allegedly reaching into a former co-worker’s car and punching him in the face. In the presence of an already-sworn six-member jury, prosecutor Elizabeth Gibson told Circuit Judge Hale Stancil the reason for the sudden change of course was “lack of victim cooperation.” “Based on the conversations with the witness in the case, we decided his behavior was not cooperative,” she said. Gibson wouldn’t specify what exactly Gary Shaw, the alleged victim and primary witness in the case, said or did Friday to change the mind of prosecutors when he appeared at court Friday. But she intimated that she couldn’t trust that Shaw would be completely open and honest on the witness stand. “I don’t know he would have lied,” she said outside the courtroom. “But I can’t call a witness if they can’t testify truthfully or appropriately.” She denied the reason for the dropped charge was lack of evidence against the defendant. She added that Shaw’s story, up to the point of trial, “remained consistent” and that she still believes Botelho reached into Shaw’s vehicle and punched him back in December 2008 following a roadside feud on East Silver Springs Boulevard. Botelho denies he punched Shaw. Shaw, 28, was apparently asked whether he would object if the State Attorney’s Office dropped charges against his alleged attacker altogether, to which he responded that he would not. He left the courthouse before he could be reached for comment. This development means the case against Botelho has taken a dramatic turn, the final twist in a prosecutorial blitz that had the defense attorney crying out “malicious” conduct. “They weren’t going to win,” S.A. Siddiqui said Friday. “What I was waiting for was a trial, for my client to have been found innocent, and for my client to bring a civil case for malicious prosecution.” Initially charged with misdemeanor battery, Botelho rejected a plea offer of a year in jail and probation earlier this year, only to see his charge upped to felony battery. He rejected a second plea offer in June extending a felony conviction and two years’ probation. As his trial date loomed, the state upped the charge a second time earlier this week to burglary of a conveyance with battery — a crime punishable by at least three years in prison and possibly up to life. The roller coaster ride over the past 10 months culminated in a relieved grin Friday in Stancil’s courtroom. “I am so happy right now,” said Botelho, a former Taylor, Bean & Whitaker employee. “They’ll take it until they can’t take it any further,” he said of the State Attorney’s Office. To that, Gibson echoed the mantra of her employer. “Our job is to prosecute criminals and protect justice. That’s what we’re in the business of doing,” she said. “We don’t change the charge to offer incentives or to react to people’s decision to take [or not take] plea arguments.” Botelho on his part maintained his innocence up to the end, as did his mother, Maria Botelho. “If my son punched [Shaw], he would have told me, that’s how close I am to my son,” she said. “I feel the state attorney took this way too far. They don’t just drag him through it, they drag the whole family through it.”